HARP Fan Compiled Errata & FAQ - ICEWEBRING · be compatible with the I.C.E RoleMaster product...

HARP Errata and FAQ Last Revision – February 15th, 2004

HARP Fan Compiled Errata & FAQ HARP stands for High Adventure Role Playing, and is a new entry into the RPG community. It is billed as simple, modular and expandable system from the new Iron Crown Enterprises. HARP was designed to be compatible with the I.C.E RoleMaster product line, allowing for easier transition between the two gaming systems. The HARP Errata and FAQ questions and answers were taken directly from the HARP Forums that are hosted by Iron Crown Enterprises. The material contained within this document should be considered unofficial, but the information contained within the document is based on official statements, responses and replies by I.C.E. representatives to questions and concerns presented on the HARP Forum board.

HARP Forum: http://www.ironcrown.com/forums/default.asp Iron Crown Enterprises Home Page: http://www.ironcrown.com/

Copyright © 2003 by Aurigas Aldebaron LLC. All rights reserved. No reproductions without permission. Produced and distributed by Mjolnir LLC, dba Iron Crown Enterprises 112 Goodman St, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 http://www.ironcrown.com

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Table of Contents

HARP ERRATA 4 Table 5.5 Adolescent Skill Table 4 Table 10.2 Individual Pieces of Armor 4 Elemental Wall Spells 4 Attack Size Damage Caps 4 Breaking the Damage Cap 5 Ranger Profession 5 Weapon Sizes for Falchion and Scimitar 5 Parrying Problem 5 Moving and Attacking 5 ½ Round Actions 6 Parrying 6

HARP FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS) 7

Rules Questions 7 Base Movement when encumbered 7 Healing 7 Language Skill Rank Limits 8 Maneuver Difficulties on Skill vs. Skill 8 Multiple Professions 9 'Of Slaying' 9 Regaining Lost Constitution 10 Surprise 10 Swimming in Armor 10 Training Packages 11

Skills Questions 12 Attunement 12 Acrobatics/Tumbling 12 Jumping 13 Lore 13 Profession Specialization Bonuses 13 Skill Specialization 14

Combat Questions 15 HARP Combat is very lethal 15 Attack Table Result Wrapping 15 Drawing Weapon and Parrying 15 Press and Attack 15 Press & Attack vs. Move & Attack 16 Movement and Attacking 16 Moving Past/Through Readied Opponents 17 Ranged Attacks 17 Two Weapon Combat 17 Mounted Combat 18 Weapon Sizes for Falchion and Scimitar 18 Thrown as a sub-skill of the weapon 18 Crossbows Skill Stats 18


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Spell Casting Questions 19 Magic System Overview 19 Cleric spell choices 19 Number of spells in a single round 20 Armor and spell effect stacking 20 Universal Sphere Spells 20 Parrying and casting 20 Counterspell Maneuvers 21 Elemental Spells 21 Elemental Bolt Scaling 21 Haste Spell 22 Magic Item OB's 22 Resisting Spells 23 Counterspell vs. Dispelling 23 Elemental Weapon Critical Size 23

Racial Questions 24 Blood Talents 24

Monster Questions 25 Monster Skill Ranks 25 Monster Attacks 25

Miscellaneous Questions 26 Experience 26 Herbs 26 Saltar's Bomb 26 Sci-Fi HARP 26 Psions/Psionics in HARP 27


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HARP Errata As folks will know some errors crept into the page-making process, and some things that we thought were fixed apparently were not. This thread is for me to list those corrections and errors and what they should actually say. Where: Table 5.5 Adolescent Skill Table

Page 26

Problem: Missing note indicating what the three asterisks in the table means

Answer: Bottom line of notes should read ***Select one missile weapon group Where: Table 10.2 Individual Pieces of Armor

Page 80

Problem: Missing DB mod for leather greaves (note: correct mod is listed on page 59).

Answer: The correct DB mod should be +2 for a set of leather greaves.

Note: The leather cap is missing a dash under Minimum Penalty column, but is otherwise correct. Where: Elemental Wall Spells

Various locations in Chapter 11

Problem: Elemental Wall Spells are of the type Elemental. Can they be used as an attack, and how does that work.

Answer: Elemental Wall spells (Air Wall, Fire Wall, Icy Mist Wall, Water Wall, & Guardian Blades) are Elemental because once active, there is no RR to avoid damage upon entering their area of effect. However, for all other purposes the wall spells should be treated as Utility spells (cannot be targeted to an unwilling person, and uses the Utility column for determining if casting was successful or not).

Where: Attack Size Damage Caps

Page 83-84 Weapon Sizes

Problem: The inline table for Weapon Sizes should have a third column indicating Maximum Result on the Critical Tables based upon te size of the attack.

Answer: Use the following as the maximum result allowed by a critical of a given size. Size Max Result Tiny 80 Small 90 Medium 100 Large 110 Huge 120


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Where: Breaking the Damage Cap

All Critical Tables

Problem: What happens if I open-end in combat? Do I lose everything above the Damage Cap?

Answer: Yes

Optional Answer:

The answer lies in wrapping the table. This means that once you go past a certain point, you start all over from the bottom and multiple results apply from that one hit. To wrap the table, you take the total result, prior to size modifications, and subtract 100 (and do so as many times as needed until you have a number of results of 100 or less). You then apply the size modifier to all the results.

Example: John's character Rawrg is attacking a foe. He open-ends his attack roll and gets a total roll (including his OB and subtracting foe's DB) of 157. Rawrg is using a Dagger, which does a small attack. To find out the total damage, John subtracts 100 from his total roll to get two results (one of 100, and one of 57). He then applies his size modifier for an Adjusted Result of 90 and 47 (100 - 10 = 90 and 57 - 10 = 47). The damage from both results are then applied to Rawrg's foe.

Where: Ranger Profession

Page 10

Problem: The Ranger does not have Physical Category as a Favored Category. Considering that he is an "outdoors" type of character, this is incorrect.

Answer: Reduce the number of ranks gained in the Combat and Mystical Categories by 1 each, then give Rangers the Favored Category of Physical 2.

Where:

Weapon Sizes for Falchion and Scimitar

Pages 58-59

Problem: The Falchion, and the Scimitar are listed as one handed weapons, yet in the equipment lists, they have an attack size of Large (all other weapons in the same group have an attack size of Medium).

Answer: The correct sizes should be Medium for both weapons. Where:

Parrying Problem

Problem: Can a character parry multiple foes?

Answer: Parrying may be split among multiple foes. The character must declare a separate portion of his OB to be used as DB against each foe. If doing Full Parry, the bonus is applied to only one of the foes being parried, at the decision of the player.

Where:

Moving and Attacking

Problem: Can a character move more than his BMR and still attack?


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Answer: Yes, he can, however, the character receives a -10 for each foot beyond 1/2 of his BMR that is moved. The character may move at higher paces than a walk, but the modifier applies to all movement beyond 1/2 of their BMR. This does not affect how the Combat Action, Charge, works.

Where:

½ Round Actions

Problem: Some actions seem to take either not enough time (or no time) or too much time to accomplish?

Answer: The Press & Melee allows for moving up to 1/2 of the character's BMR and still attacking. Taking an Herb (as described at the bottom of the table on page 57) and Drawing a weapon (listed on the inline table on page 78) now can be done in place of the moving 1/2 BMR when using the Press & Melee action. They no longer take the amount of time as listed in the book.

Where:

Parrying Page 82

Problem: Can I parry and cast a spell at the same time?

Answer: Parrying is part of an attack. When a character declares that he is parrying (not Full Parry, which replaces an attack, and takes a full round), he is also declaring that he is also attacking that round. Since you cannot make a melee attack and cast a spell in the same round, you cannot parry while casting a spell.

Parrying while Stunned: If the character is stunned, he is able to parry with up to 50% of his OB. This is the equivalent of a Full Parry (without the additional bonus, and only up to 50% of OB), and is resolved in exactly the same manner as the Full Parry is resolved (meaning that you could possibly fumble or get extraordinarily lucky and actually hurt foe).


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HARP FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Rules Questions

Base Movement when encumbered [QUESTION:]

"I saw that the base movement rate (BMR) is 10'(varying with height)+quickness modifier But doesn't include encumbrance penalty. Encumbrance affects the max sprint you can have but not the BMR. Why? If you carry heavy equipment, you are slower & you can't dash."

[ANSWER:] Tim Dugger

"First Point, remember, HARP is not meant to be realistic. Having said that, the encumbrance penalties and the weight ranges for them are for being able to move (BMR, not at a higher Pace) at their BMR. That is why actions and maneuvers get the penalty for encumbrance. Because it is harder to move normally. Now, if we had also reduced the base movement rate, then we would have somebody here claiming that we are double penalizing characters." Healing [QUESTION:]

"I'm having trouble understanding the healing skill as it relates to bleeding damage. In the example it says 'Rawg is bleeding 9 hits per round, Esmerril (his companion), attempts to heal him and gets a result of 127, this is good enough for a hard maneuver and so cures 6 points of damage.' My question is how was it determined that it was six points of damage cured, I know it has to do with the success level of your roll but how exactly do you work that out?"


"Actually, it is somewhat simple. A Hard healing maneuver will stop from 4-6 points of bleeding (not heal the hits lost, just stop the bleeding). Since a roll of 127 is more than enough for a Hard maneuver, but not enough for a Very Hard maneuver, the GM in the example, says that Esmerril stopped the max amount of bleeding for a Hard Maneuver." [QUESTION:]

"Major Healing has lots of options for scaling, like taking care of nerve damage, broken bones, and muscle damage. How does this occur...? Is it purely 'fluff' for the GM to inflict based on criticals? Or is this something we'll see more in Martial Law?"


"Both actually. Martial Law will have more exacting criticals which Major Healing takes into account as well. Additionally, the spell also allows the GM to tailor and flavor text of the critical as well, without having to worry about there not being something that cannot heal his description of the damage."


"I just looked over the criticals again - The majority of the death in xx rounds results from damage to an artery, or from massive shock (caused by major damage to lots of body parts (i.e. muscles and organs).


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[QUESTION:]

"Are the bleeding and penalty results from criticals cumulative? Meaning if at first I take a crit that indicates 5 hits per round then another for 10 hits per round I would be bleeding at a rate of 15 per round?"


Yes to both questions.

The easiest way to handle this is to think of this as a Mortal Wound (as opposed to Light, Medium, and Severe). In such cases, I would allow 3 castings of Minor Healing, or 2 castings of Major Healing (or scaling the spell accordingly - a 9 PP minor healing or a 8 PP Major Healing) to reduce such Mortal Wounds down to the severity of Severe. At this point, the character is at -100 to all actions, and may therefore be healed normally. Language Skill Rank Limits [QUESTION:]

"Starting languages break the rule of lvl x 3 + 3 being the upper limit for an individual skill. This has raised a few questions. Are language skills exempt from this rule? Does it mean that a character can't increase his skill in his native language (spoken) till 2nd level?"


"Yeah, languages would be the only exemption from the skill cap rule.

Maneuver Difficulties on Skill vs. Skill [QUESTION:]

"When two characters are opposing each other with various skills (i.e. Stalking & Hiding vs. Perception) would you apply modifiers (Easy, Hard, etc.) on the initial roll that sets the RR or the corresponding RR roll itself?"


"The modifiers would go on the skill roll itself, never on the RR."


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Multiple Professions [QUESTION:]

"I had a player that wanted to purchase a 2nd profession at 1st level. He had enough DP but per the rules he would have been considered 2nd level without having earned any EXP. (Fighter 1st and Mage 1st = 2nd level at 0 EXP)

My response was "no" you must earn a level through EXP before buying a new profession.

Another could have been yes but you must earn EXP to 3rd level before getting a new level.

Is there a better option on how to interpret this situation?"

[ANSWER:] Forum Poster

"Treat them as 1st level, let them spend their initial DP as though they had both sets of favored classes. (Including the DP cost for the extra class)

Once they get the XP for 2nd level, make them pick which of the two classes to use for going up a level, and give them that set of DP.

From 3rd level on, treat normally. I doubt it's too unbalancing, partly because of the skill rank caps."


"As well, my first response would have been "no".But [another] post got me thinking...

One way to handle it would be that you require the Player to spend all his DP (except for the 40 used in getting the second profession) as the first profession (in regards to costs, etc...). Then, once those are spent, you allow him to get the second profession. This way it does not unduly imbalance it (by giving him too many skills at too little cost all in one level).

Then when he goes to second level, he loses the ability to select which profession to advance, and must advance the one he purchased at the end of his development the previous level. Also, he does not get the first level benefits of the second profession until second level either, since he does not have a full level in that profession yet.

So, if he were wanting to be a Fighter/Mage and is starting off as a fighter, he gets the professional benefits of the Fighter, and all skills cost as Fighter. Then, when has only 40 DP left, he purchases the Mage profession. He gets the 20 skill ranks for the Mage as indicated, but does not get the Sense Magic ability until second level (which must be developed as the Mage). As for Mage spells, he gets only what he can purchase with his free ranks given by the profession (meaning he cannot use and DPs on other spells at first level)." - Check rule from page 46 'Of Slaying' [QUESTION:]

"There is a Warrior Mage spell that can be scaled to treat a weapon as if it were "Slaying". There are no rules for this. There is a Spear of Dragonslaying, but what abilities are specific to the spear and what are specific to a 'Slaying' weapon are up to debate. Could someone elaborate on this?"


"Page 149 - under Spear of Dragon Slaying, it says that if the dragon is hit, the creature must beat a RR(100) vs. Magic or take an External Poison Critical (rolled separately). So, the 'Of Slaying' ability is RR(100) vs. Magic, failure results in 1d100 on External Poison Critical Table"


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Regaining Lost Constitution [QUESTION:]

"In the monster section, on the undead, it talked about losing Con when [a character is hit] by an undead. What we couldn't find was how you regained it."


"There is a "Restoration" spell in the cleric sphere"


"You can always increase your stats when you go up levels"

[ANSWER:] ICEBruce

"The talent "succor" lets you chose restoring con points as well."

Surprise [QUESTION:]

"Surprised says when two groups unexpected the GM must determine is either is surprised. The Player character with the best perception skill makes a Maneuver Roll, while the GM rolls for the opposing group. Does the above mean both use perception and the highest wins?"


"Correct. It is a variation on the skill vs skill type of resolution. Highest one is less surprised than the other, so gets to act first."

Swimming in Armor [QUESTION:]

"There are two different rules that handle swimming. Should I combine those rules or use only other one?"


"Under the Swimming skill description on page 43, it says that armor maneuver penalties are tripled, and that it is recommended that swimming in armor also be of a higher difficulty.

On page 72, it gives an example of the increase in difficulties (+1 difficulty per armor base).

The two work together. So if the character in Plate had a maneuver penalty of 50, his mod to his swimming would be -230 (-150 (-50 * 3) + -80 = -230) (glub glub....)"


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Training Packages [QUESTION:]

"Can you take the same training package more than once (obviously across multiple levels)?"


"Yes, you can take a training package more than once. Just remember though that the Training Package cannot give the character more ranks than his level allows, and that by taking a package multiple times, he is actually getting less benefit from the package, the more often it is taken (i.e. since the skill rank bonuses reflect diminishing returns)."


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Skills Questions Attunement [QUESTION:]

"When using Attunement and the item has more than one ability, how do you know how many abilities the person learned to use? Since there is a -10 penalty for each ability beyond the first, do you just learn one ability at a total skill check result of 100, 2 at 110, 3 at 120, etc.?”


"Yes."

Acrobatics/Tumbling [QUESTION:]

"In the skill description for Acrobatics/Tumbling, it states that one can use it in combat, rolling a maneuver roll and using the result as a bonus to DB. In the combat section it describes it as an all or nothing roll which results in a +50 bonus. Which one is correct?"


"Actually they both are correct. With the skill, a character can perform the maneuver and he gets to move up to his BMR, adding the bonus result to his DB. Consider this to be a "Dodge Move". With the Combat Action: Dodge, a character can roll (and its base is 2x Agility bonus, but the Acrobatics skill may also be used if the character has it), and they get to apply the bonus result to a base of +50, which is then added to DB (straight Dodge), and the character ends up where he started or very close to it."

[EXAMPLE:]

Brolys, a Gnome Monk, has a BMR of 19' per round. So, using the combat action, Dodge, he can get a 50 (+/- bonus result, and move little to no distance, or he can perform an Acrobatics maneuver and get the bonus result, and move up to 19' if he likes."

[QUESTION:]

"How should Acrobatics be added to DB?"


"Just having acrobatics does not add to your DB, however, you can perform an acrobatic maneuver, with the bonus result (from the Maneuver Table) being added to your DB (it also allows you to move your BMR as well)."


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Jumping [QUESTION:]

"The Jumping table doesn't list any distances for high jumps. Also, I don't understand how to read the numbers under the pole vaulting column. What do they mean?"


"The jumping distances (under Running & Standing) are both distance high and long for the jump (i.e. either direction, jumpers choice), the Pole Vault distances (6' x 6') means that the vault is both that height and length."

Lore [QUESTION:]

"Okay the question is about the Lore skills. I seem to be a little confused about it. "It says each lore skill is learned as separate skills ... it may be broad or as specific as the character desires. So does this mean that arcane and mundane are placeholders and the character needs to learn a specialty like Dragon Lore, Spell Lore, history etc. And is something like History by countries/region?”


"Correct, each lore is learned individually, The Mundane and Arcane Lore skills are place-holders for those individual Lores (as determined by the character). You could learn Mundane Lore: Taverns of Eidolon, or Mundane Lore: Cultures of Emer. Each has its own range of possible information available to the characters. For example, the Cultures of Emer Lore skill would generally give you an overview of a culture, with an exceptional roll providing more details while the Taverns of Eidolon Lore skill would provide information about those taverns located in Eidolon, and an exceptional roll might mean that your character remembers that the tavern, The Dew Drip Inn serves stewed lamb every third Tuesday and that the owner's middle name is Alfonso.”

Profession Specialization Bonuses [QUESTION:]

"With the profession bonuses to skills, I was wondering if they stack with other profession bonuses or are they just capped at 30? Example the character is a 10th level Fighter with a +30 in long blades and he gets a level of Warrior Mage, can he add the +10 to this skill, or should it be added to a different skill?"


"Weapon Specialization" abilities of the Fighter and Warrior Mage do stack, but since they are the same special ability, they have to follow the restriction of no more than +30 to any single weapon"

[QUESTION:]

"How does this interact with the Skill Specialization talent and the Human racial special ability: Skill specialization?"


"That would be a separate ability, so it is added separately (i.e. it does not count towards the Weapon Specialization limit)."


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Skill Specialization [QUESTION:]

"Skill Specialization: +10 to one skill. May be purchased for only 3 different skills.

Each character = max 3 times this talent OR

Each character = max 3 skills with specialization with no limit for cumulative +10 bonus?"


"It means that a character may purchase that Talent no more than 3 times, and that the bonus must be applied to a different skill each time."


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Combat Questions

HARP Combat is very lethal [QUESTION:]

"Open ended attack results are very lethal, is this going to be changed with an errata or in future supplements?"


“One solution is to make the “special” criticals on available if the initial attack roll is a natural 100. The special results are 80, 90, 100, 110, & 120 and would only be achieved by a natural 100 modified by the weapon size modifier (-20 Tiny, -10 Small, 0 Medium, +10 Large, +20 Huge). If the Table Wrapping option is being used, the character continues to roll, but only the first natural 100 result can attain the special critical. To reward 96-99 open ended attack rolls, use the table wrapping option with a maximum result range of 71-79 for Tiny, 81-89 for Small, 91-99 Medium, 101-109 Large, and 111-119 for Huge.

Attack Table Result Wrapping [QUESTION:]

"Open ended attack results with the Table Wrapping rule leads to attack results higher than I want for my game."


"The Attack Table Wrapping rule has been made Optional. GM’s and Players can decide if this option is right for their specific play-styles and campaigns.”

Drawing Weapon and Parrying [QUESTION:]

"Can a character draw their weapon and parry in the same round?"


"[A character] can still draw [their] weapon and parry, even though [they] may not attack." Press and Attack [QUESTION:]

"How does the Press and Attack maneuver work?"


"Press and Attack allows you to move half your BMR and attack without penalty. Page 24 gives you difficulty severities (base) for performing actions while moving. So, attempting to perform actions while moving would require a maneuver roll."


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Press & Attack vs. Move & Attack [QUESTION:]

"What's the difference, and how are they resolved?"


"You can move up to half BMR and make an attack [using Press & Attack].

You can move your full BMR and not make an attack [full movement].

So, you should be able to move up to 3/4 of BMR and attack with 1/2 of your OB.

Thus, whatever percentage over half of your BMR acts as a neg modifier against your OB.

Personally, I use a -10 per each foot moved beyond half of BMR."

Parrying Multiple Opponents [QUESTION:]

"How many different attacks can a character parry in a 2 second round? For example if a character is surrounded by four foes, and has 100 OB, can he can he parry each, assigning 20% of his OB to his DB -- and then attack one of them with the remaining 20% of his OB?"


"That is a GM's call, but I would say yes."

Movement and Attacking [QUESTION:]

"In the description of charging made on page 81, there is a reference to not receiving the normal penalty to attack rolls usually received when attacking while moving. I didn't think you could attack while moving. I thought you either moved your full rate in a round or half that rate with an attack."


"You can normally move up to 1/2 your base movement rate and still attack without penalty. For more movement than that, apply a -5 for each foot of movement. For example, if you have a BMR of 12', then you can move up to 6' and still make an attack. If you move 10' and attack, you would get a -20 to your attack (10 - 5 = 4 * -5 = -20)."


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Moving Past/Through Readied Opponents [QUESTION:]

"How would you handle moving around and in between opponents in HARP? If there was a group of ten guards protecting the king (yet there was space between them) are there any rules that would prevent an attacker from just running past the guards while charging the king?

Let's assume for the example that the guards are ready, have weapons drawn (but don't have any spears/pole-arms for the Hold at Bay maneuver)."


"First, I would look at initiative. Remember that the round is only 2 seconds long, so things are actually happening very fast and very close together. The person trying to get to the king would not have to worry about all the guards, just those closest to his path.

Looking at the Hold-At-Bay Combat Action, spears/pole-arms are NOT required (they get a bonus, but are not required). The action says a weapon longer than foe's, but in the situation that you described (he is trying to get past them to another target), just about any weapon would work. And since there is more than one guard, you could allow them to aid each other (see below) in the maneuver, or have them each make their own attempt to hold him at bay.

As for aiding another, you have the aiding character make a maneuver roll (in this case, using his OB) on the Bonus column of the Maneuver Table. The result is then added to the roll of the character doing the Hold-at-Bay (note: there is actually an example of this type of action someplace in the book, where Esmerril is trying to use his knowledge of Ancient Lore to aid Nynyve in opening a lock)."

Ranged Attacks [QUESTION:]

"Does a character receive bonuses for flank or rear when attacking with a missile weapon? "


"Yes - if they are to the flank or rear of the target."

Two Weapon Combat [QUESTION:]

"When using the 2-Weapon combo, do you "use the lesser of either the style's skill, or his weapon bonus as his Offensive Bonus for all attacks,"


"TWC bonus is the bonus used. All that is required is that he have a minimum of one rank with the weapons used in the style. This also means that if he loses one of those weapons, he is stuck using the weapon bonus rather than the TWC bonus. His skill bonus with the weapons used in the TWC style have no bearing on his skill bonus with TWC (so long as he has that one required rank)."


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Mounted Combat [QUESTION:]

"Can you clarify the text of Mounted Combat?"


"Attacking from a mount (one that does not fly) has a -80 modifier (flying mounts have a mod of -160). [The character's] skill in Mounted Combat reduces this penalty, just like Armor Skills reduce the penalty for wearing armor. It can reduce the -80 to 0, but cannot give [the character] a +xx to attacking while mounted."

Weapon Sizes for Falchion and Scimitar [QUESTION:]

"The Falchion, and the Scimitar are listed as one handed weapons, yet in the equipment lists, they have an attack size of Large (all other weapons in the same group have an attack size of Medium).. Is that correct?"


"Errata – The correct sizes should be Medium for both weapons."

Thrown as a sub-skill of the weapon [QUESTION:]

"A lot of weapon can be used in either melee or thrown maneuvers. The rules don’t state that a character can use a part of either bonus to use his weapon the other way. If I master short sword-short blade category-1Hslash group with +80, I can't throw my sword with any part of my skill ?"


"Throwing a weapon and using it in melee are two completely different skills, and neither is related to the other, so there is no cross-over in using one skill for the other."

Crossbows Skill Stats [QUESTION:]

"Why are Crossbows St/Ag skills? Shouldn't they be Ag/Ag?"


Strength - helping hold the weapon steady while aiming

Agility - helping track and aim on moving targets


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Spell Casting Questions

Magic System Overview [QUESTION:]

"What was the basis for the HARP magic system, or how was it envisioned to work?"


“Ok, here is how [the magic system and rules were] envisioned.

When casting a spell, you are shaping mana into 3 (or more) dimensional form/matrix/lattice-work of energy, and then pumping the shape full of energy (all the energy is comprised by the based cost of the spell). This matrix is the most stable form of the spell, and thus the hardest to resist. As you increase the power of the spell, you are making alterations to its matrix (note that certain talents equate to you putting enough effort and practice into a certain type of alteration for a specific spell that it effectively becomes the new base form for that caster).

As you make these alterations to the matrix, it is more fragile and unstable. This results in the potential for more power, but also makes it easier to resist than the more stable form of the spell.

Have you ever built a house of cards? You will note that while the base shape of the house is stable, as you add more cards it is more fragile overall, making it easier and easier to topple over. Every so often, as you build this house, you hit stable points (i.e. the fixed costs for specific increases), even though it is stable, the overall integrity of the structure is still weaker than the smaller one. Spell casting in HARP is much like this. In fact, you could equate

Counterspelling is somebody coming along and trying to remove key cards making it topple prematurely.

Another way to look at it is that the casting of a spell is the use of mana to effect a change upon reality. The larger the change, the more resistant reality is to it. Thus larger changes take more power and are easier to resist. Some changes (i.e. utility spells) are drastic enough (or affect the target at such a base level) that reality won't permit them without the target being willing."

Cleric spell choices [QUESTION:]

"A Cleric MUST choose 10 spells from the Cleric Sphere, but CAN choose another 10 spells for his base of 20 spells.

Is the Cleric restricted to selecting the other 10 spells from the Universal Sphere, or can he take a "hodge-podge" of spells from other professional spheres?"


"The Cleric may choose the other 10 (those not required to be from the Cleric Sphere) from ANY Sphere, though they are subject to GM approval (i.e. the cleric of the god of death most likely would not be allowed healing or life-keeping or life-giving spells). The spells should match the theme and focus of the god that the cleric worships."


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Number of spells in a single round [QUESTION:]

"What is the maximum number of spell and Counterspell maneuvers that a character can make in a single round?"


"The rules say that you cannot cast more than one Instantaneous spell per round (which is why Counterspell is defined as being like an Instantaneous spell). The only other restriction on instantaneous spells is that you cannot cast one while casting another spell. This means that you could cast an instantaneous spell before or after you cast a normal spell, but once you start casting (say a multi-round spell), you cannot cast an instantaneous spell until it is complete. So, according to the rules, you can cast a maximum of one instantaneous spell, and one normal spell each round. This also means that if you use a Counterspell during the round, you cannot cast an instantaneous spell in the same round."

Armor and spell effect stacking [QUESTION:]

"It appears that spell caster can wear leather greaves, leather bracers and a leather helm for a total of 7 DB with no spell casting penalties. Does this stack on top of the effects of Steel Skin, Tree Skin, etc.?"


"Steel Skin and Tree Skin - yes, the bonuses do stack with armor worn."

Universal Sphere Spells [QUESTION:]

"It says that universal spells may be cast by anyone. Does that include non spell casters?"


"Yes, if they spend the effort (and DPs) to learn them and to also get Power Point Development."

Parrying and casting [QUESTION:]

"Can you parry using part of your OB when casting an elemental spell?"


"No, parrying is done with a melee weapon. What is parried against, may or may not be a melee weapon. Of course, common sense tells you that parrying an elemental bolt with your bare hands is bound to be a bad idea."

[QUESTION:]

"Can a character parry an elemental attack? Are characters able to dodge elemental attack?"


"Parry Elemental attack – no


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Dodge Elemental Attack - yes" Counterspell Maneuvers [QUESTION:]

"Since Counterspell is timed as an Instant spell, but is described as a skill (with a set bonus based the number of profession level that a character has in a spell casting profession), is it possible for a character perform a Counterspell maneuver and cast a normal spell (of the less than 5 PP variety) in the same round? And at that point, could the opposing spell caster turn around and counter my spell?"


"Actually, yes you can do both the Counterspell and cast a normal spell during the same round. Counterspell counts as if an instantaneous spell, and may be freely used once per round. Its existence will make spell using combats very interesting. Remember, it is not an automatic thing that you will be able to counter another's spell."

Elemental Spells [QUESTION:]

"On page 66 of the rule book, it makes a reference to elemental attacks being treated as melee attacks. Is this spelled out in detail somewhere later (and I've just over looked it)? For example, does this mean that someone can parry an Elemental Attack?"


"Treating an elemental attack as a melee attack means that you figure out whether or not the attack hits in the exact same manner (same basic rule, of course certain modifications will be different, like not being able to parry an elemental attack)."

Elemental Bolt Scaling [QUESTION:]

"If I add increased size to an elemental bolt for 4pp to increase my damage by +10, doesn't that decrease my attack roll by -20?"


"The attack roll is the casting roll, yes. Now as to the other, before you get too upset, check out the damage that is available to those larger bolts, the potential for instant death is greater over all. This is what makes the scaling option more balanced. Scaling is always an option, not a requirement."


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Haste Spell [QUESTION:]

"If a mage scales up a Haste spell (both in duration and actions allowed) to allow 2 actions, and on the next round he casts a scaled spell that would normally take two rounds to complete, is he then able to release that same spell in the one round due to the haste?"


"If a caster is Hasted, and wishes to cast a spell that would normally take two rounds to cast, then yes he could cast it in a single Hasted round. Basically, manipulating mana (power points) takes 2 seconds per every 5 power points. Thus, for a Hasted character, they are actually living the equivalent of 4 seconds in two seconds (i.e. double time, double the normal possible activity). This also means that a Hasted character could possibly cast two different spells in a Hasted round. This actually goes against the one spell per round rule. That rule is in place because it is presumed that the actual manipulating of mana WILL take a certain minimum amount of time. The more you are using, the more time it will take. So, personally, I would allow a Hasted character to cast two spells in one round (note: other mages may of course always Counterspell the Haste spell)."

Magic Item OB's [QUESTION:]

"If someone without an Elemental Bolt skill attunes themselves to a wand or device that fires some kind of Elemental Bolt or Ball attack, what is their OB? Do the devices have an innate OB, or does it use something from the caster? I would assume they have an innate score, but don't know."


"That is left up to you to decide:

1) You can give it an innate bonus (the little chart on page 148, in Will Contests could easily be used).

2) You can make the character learn a skill "Wand Use" and put it in either the Mystical Arts, or Combat categories as you prefer (stats would be Ag/In).

3) You can just let the wielder use their Ag/In stat bonuses as their attack bonus.

I would select either #1 or #2 or perhaps a combination of both."


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Resisting Spells [QUESTION:]

"So, a 4th level mage can affect equally a 1st, 10th or 30th level opponent if his target hasn't developed the resistance magic skill?"


"You are correct, they can equally effect foes no matter what the level, but that is why there is a Resistance skill, so that the higher level ones CAN resist better, IF they choose to."

[QUESTION:]

"The more powerful the spell, the easier it is to resist. This seems to go against all logic and precedence in fantasy literature and other games. Is this correct?"


"The same caster has the option to either cast a spell that does low damage and is easy to cast but is hard to resist, or he can cast it with higher damage but more difficult to cast and therefore easier to resist.

You seem to expect that the more PPs are invested into the spell, the harder to resist it must be. But one can also see it the other way around, that more PPs mean that the spell is harder to handle, nearer on the brink of failure and thus easier to resist - as it seems to be in the HARP rules."


"[That is] pretty much correct, but don't forget that the caster's bonus in the spell will also continue to increase as well, thus making minor scaling more desirable."

Counterspell vs. Dispelling [QUESTION:]

"Why is it easier to Counterspell a scaled up spell but harder to dispel magic it?"


"Simple, the Counterspell takes place DURING casting, which is made more difficult by the additional mana.

Once a spell has been cast, the effects are stable (in the sense that they are more difficult to undo)."

Elemental Weapon Critical Size [QUESTION:]

"What size elemental critical is added when the weapon has different critical sizes depending on how it's being wielded?" [Example: Katana has Medium criticals if used 1-Handed, but is considered Large if wielded 2-Handed]


"If a weapon can do multiple sized criticals (as determined by how it is used), then the starting size for the critical is one less than the smallest attack size. Thus, using Katana as an example, the spell does a small elemental critical, no matter which way the katana is wielded."


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Racial Questions Blood Talents [QUESTION:]

"I was reading the book, and examined the rules about making a hybrid breed of races. It says that you can spend DP's to make your character half or 1/4 of another race. The cost is 2 and 1. Does that mean that I can be a quarter dwarf for 1 DP, gaining the Dark Vision (Greater). While I have to pay 15DP's for the talent that gives me Dark Vision (Lesser)?


"When you become a racial hybrid, you are actually trading out one ability for another (for the Lesser - which costs 1 DP), or trading out up to two racial abilities for the Greater (which would make you a 1/2-whatever). And note that on the Greater Blood talents, that the stat bonuses and life-span changes ARE one of the things you trade out a racial ability for."

[QUESTION:]

"How do the Major Blood Talents work for Stats and Life-span?"


“The stat bonuses and life-span are [considered] a single item that must be selected (i.e. swapped out with another ability). Note: you do NOT switch stat bonuses from the Blood Talents, those are bonuses to your base racial stats (they stack). The major bullet points are the items that can be swapped out.”


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Monster Questions Monster Skill Ranks [QUESTION:]

"I was wondering if anybody at ICE has any kind of formulae that can be used to calculate the # of ranks an average NPC and/or monster would have?"


"Easiest way to handle this is by using the max number of ranks per level. On page 133, the last paragraph, just under the 'Creatures & Monsters' heading, you will note that it says to treat Monster levels as if they were Fighter levels for the purpose of customizing them... (or something to that effect). Give each 1-5 skills at the maximum number of ranks for its level, then give it about 1-10 skills with half that number, and 1-5 skills with just one or two ranks. That will give you a good selection of skills for NPCs (and monsters), with the skills being based on what profession."

Monster Attacks [QUESTION:]

"If a monster has multiple attacks listed, such as the dragon listed, doesn’t that indicate that the monster can make all of those attacks in a single round? Or is it forced to decide among them and make one attack? If so, I don't see many reasons why a monster would ever deviate from its strongest attack."


"Monsters get to select which attack to perform if it has multiple listed. The monster's strongest attack is the one it prefers to use and uses most often (which is why it is its strongest attack), but there may be situation where it cannot use that attack for some reason (like using a tail whip on a foe behind him because he cannot use claws or bite on foe). The more intelligent monsters may also use tactics that the PCs don't think of (i.e. Kobolds can work together and create a VERY nasty ambush!)."


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Miscellaneous Questions Experience [QUESTION:]

"Am I correct in interpreting the experience progression chart to mean once 20th level is reached each additional level requires 2500 more total experience. 21st requiring 17700, 22nd requiring 20200, and so on? "


"Correct"

Herbs [QUESTION:]

"On page 126, under the physical alteration herbs, the text reads that Carsir allows 70% activity per round. HARP doesn't use percent activity, right?"


"It does not say round. It says 70% activity, period. You can take this as a -30 to all actions, or as 70% to all physical maneuvers, etc. Whichever way you prefer. The intention is that you do not get full bonuses when operating underwater using this herb."

Saltar's Bomb [QUESTION:]

"Roll 2d10+20 for the Heat Critical and 1d10+20 for the Slash critical."(p144) These critical ranges don't seem to provide much variety in results. Is this a typo?"


"No, not a typo - the ranges are small because it does not do a whole lot of damage (think more along the lines of stun grenade with slight shrapnel damage)"


"Change the Slash to 2d10 + 10. As for the Heat, is correct. Think of it as a low level stun grenade - (i.e. the idea is to knock foe off balance, and stun him for a round or two - the other damage is incidental)."

Sci-Fi HARP [QUESTION:]

"Will there be a Sci-Fi supplement for HARP?"


"There is a sci-fi supplement in the planning stages"


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Psions/Psionics in HARP [QUESTION:]

"Is there any Psion magic coming to HARP?"


"Eventually, yes I will be introducing Psionics into HARP. They will be required for doing a sci-fi version of HARP in any case (although I am planning on a single book for Psions as well). However, Psions will not work like spells work, and I am still in the process of designing them."

HARP Fan Compiled Errata & FAQ - ICEWEBRING · be compatible with the I.C.E RoleMaster product...

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